C OURAGEOUS couple Sarah and Matthew Richardson have pledged to do an extreme ‘face-down’ abseil from 165 feet up on the iconic Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough, in memory of their conjoined twins, who died four years ago this month.

And it is hoped their dizzying fund-raising feat will benefit Tynedale Hospice at Home by up to £2,000.

Sarah, 27, wanted to thank the hospice for the help she received from the adult bereavement service there.

She sought support following the death of her identical twin boys, Fred and George, who were stillborn in May 2012.

Sarah said she received the devastating news that their twins were conjoined quite late into her pregnancy. Such births are very rare – about one in 200,000.

Fred and George were born at Darlington Memorial Hospital joined at the stomach and with shared organs.

“This time in our lives was worse than either of us could have ever imagined,” Sarah said.

A year after their bereavement, the couple moved to Hexham from Hurworth Place in County Durham, and the following January, they had their little girl, Katie, who is now two.

“It was around then that I realised I wasn’t coping very well. It was very difficult because after losing the twins I was so focused on making sure I was doing everything I could for Katie, I was suppressing my grief and it was really painful.

“I didn’t think I could let it out because I wanted to do the best for her. I suppose I was working on autopilot in a way. I was caring for my baby and meeting all of her needs; I was loving her, but behind that I was empty.

“Then one of my friends told me about the bereavement support at the hospice and I started seeing a lady there called Val (Jewitt).

“Just having that time to talk to somebody – to be able to tell her how I felt about things, to be upset if I wanted to be – it was just a space for me to grieve, because having time to grieve with a little one is really hard.”

Over the course of a year, Sarah said Val gave her the skills to manage her grief and carry on with her life.

“She helped me to come to terms with what had happened and bring some normality back to our lives.

“Without her and the support of the hospice, I wouldn’t have been able to move forward with my husband and new baby daughter,” Sarah added.

Sarah and Matthew (30), who will have been married for five years in July, are doing the ‘extreme abseil’ off Teesside’s Transporter Bridge on Sunday, May 22.

Sarah added, “I can’t thank the adult bereavement service enough for the support that they provided and I’m hoping that raising funds towards their work will help them to continue supporting other adults.”

Last September, Sarah trained to be a supporter for SANDS (the stillbirth and neonatal death charity) for whom she helps run a monthly support group in Jesmond, Newcastle.

“I feel like I’m doing something positive in the twins’ memory, that it has not all been bad and that something good has come from that horrible time,” she said.

She and Matthew have also planted an oak tree at a National Trust woodland in Woolsingham in the twins’ memory that they visit each year on their babies’ birthday.

The couple hope to raise at least £600 for the hospice, which would just about cover the cost of the support Sarah received. However, they have set a target on their Just Giving page of £2,000 in the hope they will raise more. Sarah confessed she was “terrified” about the ‘face-down’ abseil.

“When I was a teenager, I did a zip-line over Baitings Dam in West Yorkshire, but that wasn’t anywhere near as high as the Transporter abseil.

“I don’t particularly like being high up. Once I am actually descending, it won’t be too bad, but actually walking off and lowering myself to a horizontal position – well, I feel quite sick thinking about it.

“But nobody is going to sponsor you if you don’t do something scary!”

Val Jewitt said she was really proud of the couple. “I think it’s very, very brave and it’s wonderful that they want to do some fund-raising for the hospice.

“I am very proud of what Sarah has achieved. She’s been on a very long personal journey.”

The hospice has to raise 90 per cent of the income needed to run all its services through voluntary donations and fund-raising.

“Sarah and Matthew doing this abseil to support our adult bereavement services is even more significant as we don’t get any external funding at all for that – and it is really important that we can offer that to people like them.”

l To sponsor the Richardsons, visit www.justgiving.com/Sarah-Matt-FGR or there are collection tins in Hands On Beauty and Tea at Blandings on Battle Hill, Hexham. Donations can be made after the event.